Well, spectacular as direct mail goes.

The mailer, which advertised dog food, was printed on nice card stock, was beautifully designed with well-chosen colors and graphics, and included generous coupons that were easily removed due to handy perforation.

The only thing that Jimbo found suspect about the mailer was that he is not a dog owner.

Still, the photos of the dog food made it look so appetizing that Jimbo found himself craving it. He briefly debated purchasing some for his own dinner, but came to his senses and ultimately gave the mailer to Pierre, a puppy-owning pal.

Wrong Recipient, Right Design

So let’s analyze this situation. Clearly, the dog food marketers forgot to do their homework and use a mailing list to ensure that the mailers ended up in the right hands. Not the best move, dog food people.

On the other hand, all’s well that ends well. Thanks to the mailer’s general awesomeness, Jimbo did what the company failed to do by passing the mailer on to someone who could use it. Pierre ended up becoming a lifelong customer of this dog food company, and it wouldn’t have happened if Jimbo wasn’t so impressed by this ad.

So while it’s really important to send your direct mail to the right people, it’s really REALLY important to have wonderfully designed direct mail.

In truth, probably not all that well. After all, if these people are just potential customers, you may not even have laid eyes on them yet. So you probably know them about as well as you know…say…your coworker’s mother-in-law, the lady who rented your apartment before you did, Justin Bieber, or someone else you’ve heard of but never actually met.

But to put together a great marketing campaign using VDP and PURLs, it’s essential to have specific details about the clients you’re looking to attract.

Luckily, you can fake it.

Big Brother Makes A List

When you buy mailing lists for your direct mail campaigns, you can get more than just names and addresses. There are lists available with more specific details about each person on the list. Do you need to know makes and models of their cars? Their shopping habits? Chances are, there’s a sneaky list maker on the prowl right now compiling the information you need. And through effective list buying, you can obtain this information easily and use it to improve the effectiveness of your campaign.

You’ve Got The Details…What Now?

After you’ve got a magic list with lots of specific details about your targets, there are lots of ways you can put this information to work. One way we recommend is putting together a marketing campaign involving VDP coupled with PURLs.

Picture this. Your target, who we’ll call Sammy, is sorting through his mail when he comes across a postcard that says “SAMMY. We Know How Much You Love Your Labradoodle. Our Pet Supply Store Has A Special Deal Just For You.” Sammy’s intrigued, not to mention happy and chill because he’s thinking about his beloved labradoodle.

As he continues reading the postcard, he discovers that it invites him to visit his own personal webpage – www.yourpetstorenamehere.com/SAMMY – where he can download coupons just for him. He’s intrigued. He’s never been invited to his own personal website for a pet store before. He hangs onto the card. He goes to the site. He takes a survey there that gives you even MORE information about him and his darling labradoodle. He gets his coupons, visits your store, and becomes a lifetime customer. And all thanks to a little V to the DP and a little P to the URLs.

Specific Details & VDP & PURLs Come Together to Rule the World

Or, at least to help you get the most bang for your buck when it comes to direct mail campaigns. Campaigns that use specific details about targets do really well, and campaigns that use VDP do really well, and campaigns that use PURLs do really well, so putting them all to work can get you the results you’re looking for.

And the best chance at turning your co-worker’s mother-in-law, the former renter of your apartment, and Justin Bieber from people you’ve heard of into your clients.

1. DON’T send direct mail that doesn’t have a point. Postcards the promote your business in general are much less effective than postcards that advertise a particular deal or sale you’re running. Your audience should not only learn about your business, but they should learn that NOW is the time to do business with you.
2. DON’T include a boring headline. Your recipients have probably received marketing materials in the mail zillions of times before. If you want your flier to be noticed, you need an eye-catching headline that says something new.
3. DON’T let your copy get too fluffy. If you were able to hook them in with an interesting headline, that’s half the battle, but the rest of the copy has to highlight the reasons your company outshines the competition. Actual facts usually work better than a string of throwaways like “great service” and “fair prices.”
4. DON’T send something out that hasn’t been edited multiple times. Sometimes it takes several sets of eyes to catch a mistake, but you don’t want a potential customer to be the one that sees the mistake first.
5. DON’T forget to use a mailing list. In an earlier post, we’ve chatted about how mailing lists can improve the results of a direct mail campaign, so make sure you get your hands on the right one for your business.

By the way, imPress loves direct mail more than toddlers love bubbles, so we’ve got your back if you need any help with your direct mail campaign.

“Address hygiene” is a term used when talking about how up to date and correct a mailing list’s information is.  It may sound a little weird, but the term does make a lot of sense – many mailing lists are cluttered with incorrect addresses, and having such a mailing list definitely stinks.

Because people move so often, mailing lists become outdated really fast.  And this results in undeliverable mail, which is a waste of resources for everyone.

We’ve talked before about the importance of using mailing lists to send your message out through direct mail, but once you have a mailing list, how can you keep up its hygiene?

NCOAlink Fixes Mailing Lists That Stink

Your best bet for keeping a mailing list “clean” is to use computer software to run it through the NCOAlink system.  The NCOAlink checks mailing lists to make sure that none of the people on the list have officially changed their addresses with the US Postal Service.  And if you have people on your list who have made a change, NCOAlink provides you with their new addresses.

In order to access this database of new addresses, you have to use computer software.  The NCOAlink sells licenses so that companies can make their own such software, or businesses can purchase software that has already been developed by third parties.

Since both of those options require a hefty investment on your part, let us suggest a third option to access NCOAlink.  Let us do the work for you.  We’d be happy to connect your list with the NCOAlink and get your mailing list shiny and clean.

Of course, NCOAlink can’t do much about the hygiene of adolescent boys, so if you need to improve the hygiene of a stinky teenager in your life, we’re afraid you’re on your own.

Many of our clients rely on us to put together printed mailers for direct mail campaigns.  So we design some and print them up, and they’re always pretty awesome.  When our masterpieces are complete, our clients mail them out and cross their fingers, hoping that their advertising efforts pay off.

And What Does This Have to Do With Curling?

Okay, so admittedly, we actually don’t know a lot about curling.  But we do understand that ultimately, getting your little stone devices to stay in the rings on the ice is a good thing.

And how do the curling team members accomplish this?  By zooming their curling stones down the ice in the direction of their ideal destination.  Not once during our Olympic viewing did we see a member of any curling team lift up a stone and start hurling it haphazardly at members of the crowd or the other team.  (Although that would have made the event a tad more exciting.)  No, these athletes kept their eyes on the prize and sent their stones straight to the intended target.

So here’s where the fundamentals of curling meet the fundamentals of direct mail.  Even if we’ve printed up a fantastic brochure for a client, it won’t be effective unless it is sent in the direction of ideal targets.  If our clients send those fantastic brochures randomly in every direction, they may find very little return on their investment.  But, if like an Olympic curling team, our clients make their brochures glide straight to the right places, they will be golden.

So How Can We Get Our Printed Materials on a Perfect Path?

It’s easy, really.  Instead of sending your brochures to everyone in your neighborhood, you can just use a mailing list to send them to potentially interested parties.  You won’t believe the types of specific mailing lists that exist these days.  No matter what type of people you are trying to reach, someone has compiled a list of individuals who meet your criteria.

How Do I Get My Hands on One of These Lists?

We thought you’d never ask.  At imPress, we can not only hook you up with awesome printed materials, but also with mailing lists to use when you send them out.  Whether you are looking for a list of elderly Albany men, hospitals on the East Coast, middle aged women with high credit scores, or curling enthusiasts, we can find a list that will work for you.

So take home the medal for most efficient advertising.  Use a mailing list to make your direct mail campaign a winner.